Women in the Plays of Shakespeare

Abstract

The greatness of Shakespeare is universally recognized. The supreme gift of Shakespeare is his universality. He is not of an age but of all ages because not only his men but also his women are true to the eternal facts of human life. His women play a significant and an important role in his tragedies as well as in his comedies. The present paper analyses the role of women in the plays of Shakespeare. Women in the plays of Shakespeare belong to the Elizabethan age when they were subject to home, domestic affairs and had to look after their husband and children. Yet Shakespeare uses them in many significant ways. Women appear as supporting and central figure in his works. There are several types of women characters in his works. Even some time they play the leading role. They are attractive, lovely, emotional, passionate and sometime dangerous also. The dramatist has created them beautifully and originally and he himself was not aware of it. The women characters are not only good but some are wicked also. The analysis done by me is a modest attempt to bring into light his women characters.